Kendall Wallace

Candidates old and new step up for Lowell

LOWELL - I'm starting to get excited about the upcoming city election.

I've been contacted by some of the new candidates for the City Council and have really enjoyed my chats with people who have a positive attitude of what can be in the future for Lowell.

In addition to some new folks a couple of old guard candidates, who also have a positive out look for the city, are close to making a final decision about running this fall.

So far there appears to be about 18 people who are considering a run for one of the nine seats on the council.

Eight of the nine incumbents are likely to seek re- election. Mayor Patrick Murphy has indicated he will not run for a third term.

The two new candidates I've met within recent days are Stacie Hargis, who will formally announce in a few days, and Derek Mitchell, who is also preparing for a formal announcement.

The pair moved to Lowell for different reasons, Hargis to get a master's degree from UMass Lowell and Mitchell for a job at UTEC. Both have fallen in love with the city and have quickly involved themselves with a wide variety of projects in Lowell.

Hargis got her masters in 2008 in regional economic and social development at UMass Lowell. She spent two years working on small- business issues in the office of U. S. Rep. Niki Tsongas and now is the director of the Merrimack Valley Small Business Center.

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Both Hargis and Mitchell completed the Public Matters and Civic Engagement program run by the Lowell Plan and the Lowell National Historical Park.

Mitchell got his bachelor's degree from Brown and also has a masters from UMass Lowell. He served in the Peace Corps helping small- scale farmers in Nicaragua.

He is now the director of the Lowell office of the International Institute, which for decades has assisted emerging immigrant groups settle into the city.

Former Mayor Jim Milinazzo has not made a final decision on seeking a return to the council, but is being urged to run by Samaras who is scheduled to make a final decision after meeting with family and friends this weekend. He has never adjusted to retirement, feels he would like to play a positive role in the community and is at a point in life he can contribute to his native city.

With things going fairly well in the city, one would think incumbents would be fairly safe for re- election, but this growing field of new and senior challengers is setting up a very interesting campaign.

Add to the fact the city didn't experience a tax- rate increase this year there are reports of some very positive economic development announcements coming in the next several weeks with the possibility of more than 500 new jobs.

City Councilor Marty Lorrey, who has a good sense of the pulse of the city, is convinced there will be bigger turnout in the city election this fall. He's projecting about 12,000. I think it is going to be stronger with a new segment of the city, many of whom got involved in the Elizabeth Warren campaign, now paying attention to city politics.

Add to that the possibility of campaigns by Milinazzo and Samaras and a very exciting summer and fall could be shaping up.
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The surprise candidate pondering a run is former Lowell High Headmaster William Samaras, who is giving it serious consideration. Samaras retired three years ago and feels he is at a point in life when he could contribute to the continuing success of the city.
Some of the others who have announced or are considering a run include Corey Belanger, who ran two years ago, Daniel Rourke and Matt Viera. There was also a report a wellknown neighborhood activist was going to run, but that apparently is not going to happen. Chris Doherty, who ran an aggressive campaign against Sen. Eileen Donoghue four years ago, was talking to people about possibly running, but that, too, appears to have cooled.
Add to this the fact two veteran community leaders are close to final decisions to run for the council this fall.
Milinazzo, who lost by fewer than 100 votes in the last election is talking with friends and family members about seeking to return to the council. Only 10,000 people voted in the election two years ago when Milinazzo suffered his surprise loss. Political observers feel this election could draw as many as 13,000 or 14,000 voters. The bigger the turnout, the better Milinazzo does. In the 2009 city election, he got the fourth highest vote total when 13,500 people cast ballots.

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